


When the Dream is a Memory

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coming to Terms with What Happened, Dreams, Getting Together, M/M, Memories, no s8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29032224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: 'Shiro gasped as he woke up. Another dream, another memory; he had no idea. He took some deep breaths to calm his racing heart as he thought about the dream he’d just had. He ran a hand over his face and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. The dream had felt so real, so tangible that he was almost certain that it had been real, but was it? Was it possible that he and Keith had shred a bed, that he’d fallen asleep in Keith’s arms?'Shiro begins to have dreams which are actually the clone's memories. What can he make of them and what does this mean for his relationship with Keith?
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Kudos: 25





	When the Dream is a Memory

Shiro gasped as he woke up. Another dream, another memory; he had no idea. He took some deep breaths to calm his racing heart as he thought about the dream he’d just had. He ran a hand over his face and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. The dream had felt so real, so tangible that he was almost certain that it had been real, but was it? Was it possible that he and Keith had shred a bed, that he’d fallen asleep in Keith’s arms?

He remembered the sensation of having Keith’s arms around him and how right it had felt. It was by far the calmest, the most relaxed he ever remembered being. Being in a position to listen to Keith’s heartbeat settled something in him. It was like Keith’s presence signified safety and by being in his arms he knew he was safe. Just remembering it settled something in him...but it also made him long for it again. He knew that he and Keith weren’t like that, that they were just best friends, but dreams like this made him wonder. Could they be?

He sighed and shook his head. He couldn’t think like that. Even if there was something between them (which there was) he couldn’t act on it, he wouldn’t allow himself to. Every time he saw the scar on Keith’s cheek, he felt guilty. He had hurt him permanently and in a way that he would always be reminded of. How could he even contemplate having anything other than friendship with Keith when he had already put him through so much and hurt him so badly?

His hand clenched on his knee and he shook his head again to shake such thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t think like that. He took a deep breath and looked at his alarm clock. It was too close to his alarm to try and go back to sleep again so he got up to start the day.

* * *

Unfortunately for Shiro that wasn’t the only dream he had. After the third dream he’d figured out that these were in fact memories that he was dreaming of, but they weren’t his memories. They belonged to the clone. He had no idea what it meant but the more he remembered the more he didn’t know what to do with the information. He had so far dreamed of the night the clone had been found, when Keith had pushed him to return to piloting Black, and when the two had spoken on the observation deck of the Castle of Lions; but it had last night’s dream that had shaken him the most so far. 

He stared up at the ceiling as he recalled it. It had been when Keith had returned after a couple of weeks of no contact and his reaction...God, his reaction. He ran a hand over his face as he returned suddenly feeling warm and instantly noticing that Keith had changed. He could barely keep his eyes off of him. It had gotten worse when Keith had disembarked and the clone had instantly noticed that he was both taller and more muscular. He remembered his face feeling warm and the stuttered words that had come out of his mouth.  He couldn’t believe that he’d been so obvious...but then it appeared that the clone had been much more open in his affection than he ever had been, and he had no idea how to deal with that knowledge.

Feeling confused and struggling to make sense of what was happening,  he fell into old habits and buried himself in his work. He spent most of his time in his office and pulled himself away from his friends. He was worried that he would end up doing something stupid if he spent too much time with Keith. He wasn’t sure his heart could take rejection from Keith or ruin their friendship. It was the most important relationship in his life and he didn’t want to lose it.

But everything changed when the next dream occurred. He expected a dream of the clone’s memories every night, although they weren’t always that frequent. But it was this dream that shook him more than all the others.

It was the fight with Keith at the cloning facility. Even thinking about it made the guilt almost overwhelming  but that wasn’t the end of it. It was the end of the dream that he couldn’t stop thinking about. It was the words ‘I love you’ spoken by Keith as his possessed clone tried to press the blade into his throat, burning and scarring his cheek  permanently  in the process.

He laid in bed and stared at the ceiling as the words ‘I love you’ reverberated in his mind. His clone/he had been trying to kill Keith and instead of hating him he had confessed his love. How could he deserve that love? How could he accept that love after everything that had happened? How could Keith say those words as his clone was trying to kill him?

As shocked by the memory as he was, there was a small part of him that was thrilled by the revelation. His heartbeat sped up and he couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips as he thought of the words. It may have been the worst circumstances but  it was still thrilling to hear those words. The dream itself gave him hope but now he felt torn.  It felt too good to be true. How could Keith have said those words in a situation like that? Could Shiro really count on these being the clone’s memories or was this confirmation that they were nothing but dreams?

He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out the truth. He knew that he needed to talk to Keith about all this.

* * *

It was several days before he worked up the courage to approach Keith. He stopped by the garage where he knew Keith would be in his free time working on his hoverbike.  He stood at the entrance and watched Keith work for a few minutes  before taking a  deep breath  and stepping forward. 

Keith turned around to grab something and spotted Shiro,  smiling as he waved. Shiro’s heart sped up at the smile before he returned the gesture. He continued walking towards Keith and let out a whistle, “The bike’s looking good Keith.”

Keith smiled up at him, “Thanks. It’s been keeping me busy and its been  good to do something that isn’t to do with the war.”

“I get it,” Shiro said as he glanced at the bike, “Hey Keith. Can we talk?”

Keith stopped what he was doing and looked up at his best friend, “Of course.”

Shiro avoided his gaze and nodded, “Can we talk privately? I don’t really want this conversation out in the open.”

Keith immediately began to worry but nodded and stood up. Shiro smiled down at him  and gestured for him to follow. The two walked in silen ce until they reached Shiro’s quarters. Shiro led them over to the sofa and sat down. Keith had only grown more worried as they walked but said nothing as it was clear that Shiro was thinking of something.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Keith spoke up, “Shiro is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it is. I’m just trying to figure out how to word this.”

“Word what?”

Shiro took a deep breath, “ I’ve been having dreams lately, dreams from when the clone was with you all and I can’t tell if there just dreams or if they are memories.”

“Okay. So you need me to verify some things?”

“Would you?”

“Of course.”

Shiro then told Keith about the more innocent and mundane aspects of his dreams, which Keith confirms are all true, at least all the things that he was present for. It’s then that Shiro realises that he’d going to have to ask about the more private things.

“There’s more…”

Keith tilted his head in question but waited for Shiro to speak.

“”I’ve also had a dream where we shared the same bed.” His face was bright red when he finished.

Keith looked at him for a moment before recognition  made its way onto his face, “We did. It was the first night after we got your clone back to the Castle. I don’t think either of us wanted to be alone so we fell asleep in the same bed.”

Shiro nodded as he stared wide-eyed  at him, “So it was true.” He whispered under his breath.

Keith nodded, “Anything else?”

“I also had a dream about the fight at the clone facility.”

It was Keith’s turn to be wide-eyed a s he looked at Shiro. They fell into a tense silence before Keith spoke up, “How much do you remember?”

“Everything.”

“Oh.”

“Keith, about what you said when we were fighting...did you mean it?”

Keith turned away from Shiro and put his head down, shielding his eyes from Shiro, “I did. But Shiro, it doesn’t have to change anything…”

Shiro felt his heartbeat speed up at Keith’s words.  Keith meant those words in the way he had hoped, he hadn’t been dreaming that they were meant in  _that_ way. Shiro looked around him before returning his gaze to Keith. 

“What if I wanted it to change things?” The words surprised even him but he couldn’t take them back now, “Look, I know that after everything I’ve put you through, after hurting you I don’t deserve to even ask but what if I wanted it to change things between us?”

Keith looked up at him, “What do you mean you don’t deserve to?”

“Keith I hurt you, I scarred you, I tried to kill you.”

“That wasn’t you! It was Haggar! She was controlling you, it was her influence that was making you do those things. I know that you’d never do that in any other circumstance.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I trust you. You’ve never hurt me before and it was a life or death situation. I don’t blame you.”

“I…”

“I forgive you, not that there was anything to forgive.”

“Keith…”

“Shiro, I got a scar on my cheek yes, but out of that fight I got you back. I found you. I should be the one to ask for your forgiveness because I stopped looking for you once we found the clone. I should have known that he wasn’t you, that something was going on.”

“There was no way for you to know. He was made to be my identical double, how could you have known? Besides I forgive you, not that there was anything to forgive.”

The two looked up at each other and smiled. Keith nodded, “So we’re in agreement that we forgive each other.”

Shiro chuckled and nodded, “I suppose so.”

Keith reached across hesitantly and gently took hold of Shiro’s flesh hand, “You want things to change between us?”

“I have no idea when things changed but I know that I don’t want to lose you. I hope one day that I will deserve you, this but I know that I love you and want to give this a go.”

Keith’s expression brightened after the shock from hearing those words from Shiro wore off. He smiled and let go of Shiro’s hand before leaning over. He placed his head on  Shiro’s shoulder and curled into his side. Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head before resting his own head on top of Keith’s. 

“I love you Shiro, and I want to give this a go too.” He said into his chest.

A fter several minutes of silence as the two sat cuddling on the sofa Shiro began to laugh. Keith raised his head in question.

“I was so sure that those dreams were just that, dreams. I convinced myself that they weren’t real.”

“Well, they were.”

“I know.” Shiro beamed at Keith and he smiled back. 

While he still didn’t feel worthy he knew he couldn’t deny Keith anything, so if he wanted to be with him then he was going to do his best to do right by Keith and make sure that this relationship worked. It was important for both their sakes. Feeling courageous  he leaned forward and gave Keith a peck on the lips. For a first kiss it wasn’t grandiose but it  was perfect for them, especially had it had caused a blush to form on Keith’s cheeks which Shiro couldn’t help but think was adorable.


End file.
